Hidden Mobile Phone Feature Can Incriminate You One Year Later

Phone Tracking

There’s a hidden feature on your cellphone tracking your every move. Software on Apple and Android devices keeps a record of your daily routine. It’s called “frequent locations,” which is set by default in your device’s privacy settings but not easy to find. It tracks time, dates and how long you stay somewhere. It even knows where you live and work, based on your time and trips there.

Your frequent locations can be accessed without your consent and can be used against you one year later. We suspect the information is stored much longer.

Robert Wallack is a New York divorce attorney who has successfully used this information for judgment on custody and alimony cases. “If someone claims they’re at work or away, we’re able to find out they’re not; and doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” Wallack said. “Unlike 10 years ago, every criminal and civil case involves digital evidence”, Wallack warned.

Apple pledged it won’t share this information without your consent; however, that won’t necessarily stop a court order.

Your frequent location settings can be turned off; however, most people don’t know they can opt out.

How iPhone and Android smartphones spy on you and how to stop them

How to turn off frequent locations

Apple devices

1. Click “Settings”
2. Go to “Privacy”
3. Select “Location Services”
4. Scroll down to “System Services”
5. Choose “Frequent Locations” to see the logged record of where you’ve been.
6. Deselect this to turn the feature off

Android devices

1. Open the App Drawer and go to Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap Location.
3. Scroll down and tap Google Location Settings.
4. Tap Location Reporting and Location History, and switch the slider to off for each one.
5. To delete your phone’s location cache, tap “Delete Location History” at the bottom of the screen under Location History.
6. Repeat this process for each Google Account you have on your Android device.